The Blues need to gobble, gobble, gobble up another win to go into Thanksgiving on a high note.

Quote:

BLUES (17-3-3) at AVALANCHE (17-5-0)

TV: FS-MW, ALT2

Last 10: St. Louis 8-1-1; Colorado 6-4-0

Blue Notes: With a win against Colorado, the Blues would improve to 7-2-1 on the road, which would be their best road start in franchise history. The Blues have points in five of their last six vs. Colorado (4-1-1). In the last meeting, Alexander Steen scored twice and T.J. Oshie set a new career-high with four assists. Patrik Berglund has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his last 14 games vs. Colorado. Kevin Shattenkirk has four goals and three assists in his last nine against the Avalanche. Oshie has eight assists in his last four games against Colorado. Chris Stewart is one point shy of 100 as a Blue.

Season series: This is the second of four meetings between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. Alexander Steen scored twice and T.J. Oshie had four assists as the Blues topped the Avalanche 7-3 at Scottrade Center on Nov. 14.

Big story: Wednesday's matchup can be summed up with a pair of numbers: 17 and 19. The first reflects the number of wins each team has reached, Colorado in 22 games, St. Louis in 23. The second number is how many goals Steen has, one behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for the NHL lead and five shy of his career high for a season.

Each team also ranks in the top six both offensively and defensively: The Blues are second at 3.44 goals per game and sixth with a 2.13 goals-against average, while the Avalanche are fifth at 3.14 GPG and tied for second with a 2.04 GAA.

Team Scope:

Blues: Jaroslav Halak enjoys his fair share of offensive support, but on Monday first-period goals by Vladimir Sobotka and Steen were more than enough in what turned into a 3-0 victory against the Minnesota Wild. Steen added an empty-netter and Halak stopped 22 shots for his 27th career shutout. He has a franchise-record 18 since joining St. Louis.

"When you can roll four lines and six defensemen in this League, it makes yourself a very tough team to play against," said defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo, who assisted on Sobotka's goal in the first game of his second stint with the Blues. "I believe that's what we are. We've just got to keep it going."

Avalanche: It's the start of a busy four-day stretch for Colorado, which following Thanksgiving plays a back-to-back against Minnesota. The Avalanche swept a brief two-game road trip with overtime wins against the Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings. Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn played heroes, with Semyon Varlamov recording a 19-save shutout to edge the Kings on Saturday, 1-0. Coach Patrick Roy said Varlamov will be back in net against the Blues.

"We've beat the last two Cup winners, with Chicago and L.A., and obviously Phoenix has a really good team this year," rookie Nathan MacKinnon said Monday. "So, good confidence for us going into St. Louis, and obviously with Minnesota twice coming up, it's going to be some big division games."

Who's hot: Jaden Schwartz has one goal and three assists during a four-game point streak for the Blues. … John Mitchell has two goals and two assists during a three-game point streak for the Avalanche.

Injury report: St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (flu-like symptoms) missed Monday's game. Forward Ryan Reaves (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in six weeks. Defenseman Jordan Leopold (hand) is on injured reserve. … Colorado forward Matt Duchene (oblique strain) is doubtful for Wednesday, but could return during the home-and-home against Minnesota. Forward Alex Tanguay (knee) and defenseman Ryan Wilson (back) are likely out until about the second week of December, according to Roy.

A nice difference between this team and the team from two years ago, is that this team is scoring goals and winning by 2,3,4 etc. It seemed like a couple years ago when the cup seemed like a real possibility going into the playoffs, it seemed like every win was a one goal game.

I wish I could just go hang out with Hitch. He seems like he could teach me how to get the most out of life.

_________________2014-2015 Official LGB Sponsor of T.J. Oshie2013-2014 Official LGB Sponsor of Kevin Shattenkirk2012-2013 Official LGB Sponsor of Ryan Reaves2011-2012 Official LGB Sponsor of Vladimir Tarasenko2010-2011 Official LGB Sponsor of Vladimir Tarasenko

Outside the visiting locker room, when Hitchcock was told of the gist of Roy's comments, the St. Louis coach responded: "Oh, give me a break. Tell Patrick to shut the (bleep) up." Then he asked if Roy had really said that, and repeated his suggestion.

Roy really is an idiot if he doesn't understand what it is about his conduct that draws criticism. Dude is a giant 13 year old. A whiny, bitter, sore loser of a 13 year old. Unclear why anyone thinks he'd make a good coach, but I guess that persona is somehow motivating.

Who is online

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum